


Stay

by helsinkibaby



Series: Partners [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 12:39:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5585695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the tree lights are switched on and everyone else disappears, two detectives are left to tidy up. Joe learns something surprising and so does Caitlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

"You don't have to do that, partner." 

Caitlin looks up from the sink of dishes, lifts one eyebrow at Joe. "I don't? Then let me out of here..." She makes a show of flicking some suds at him, nails him right between the eyes and laughs at the expression on his face. 

"Funny," he says as he wipes his face with the back of his hand and she shrugs. 

"I thought so." She returns her gaze to the sink, concentrates on cleaning the delicate stem of the wine glass in her hands. "Besides, it'll go quicker with two." That's said with a not so subtle glance at the towel hanging from the kitchen cabinets and Joe chuckles. 

"Yes, ma'am." Before he takes the towel, he looks towards the refrigerator. "You want another beer?" 

Caitlin consists it for a moment before she shakes her head. "Better not," she decides, before adding the honest truth. "I think I had a glass too much of Grandma Esther's eggnog." 

Joe's mouth opens in a silent "ah" of acknowledgment. "Coffee?" 

"Please." She continues washing as he gets the machine ready and once the gentle hum signifies that the coffee is brewing, he comes to stand beside her, picks up the towel and works alongside her, drying the dishes she's been neatly stacking. 

"You really didn't have to stay, you know," he says after a few minutes and she looks up at him, amused. 

"And leave all this?" She indicates the soapy water and he chuckles silently, shakes his head. 

"You could have gone with Barry and the others." They'd left not long after Eddie and Iris, Cisco muttering something about heading out on the town to cheer Barry up, Patty rolling her eyes at his suggestions but offering a few of her own. They'd still been debating their watering hole of choice as they were pulling on their coats and the last thing Caitlin had wanted was to get in the middle of that. "I think Cisco would have liked that." 

There's a lilt to his voice that she's not used to hearing and she narrows her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Joe doesn't look up from the plate he's drying. "Means I think someone's got a little crush," he says and she wonders if she's not the only one who had a little too much eggnog. "Cisco's been looking at you like you hung the moon for weeks now. He asked you to go out with them... and yet, here you are, on tidy up duty instead of out on the town?" 

"They're kids," she hears herself telling Joe and yeah, she definitely had too much eggnog if that's the best excuse she can come up with. She glances around at the coffee machine, sees it's nowhere near ready and glances back to Joe. The word "boggled" comes nowhere near to describing the look on his face. 

"They're your age," he reminds her. "Or not that much younger." 

Which is chronologically true, Caitlin knows. In reality, things are different. "It's just that... you're my partner."

Joe frowns but he's smiling too and she wonders exactly how strong that eggnog was. "I have noticed." 

She mock glares as she puts the last plate in the rack, snatches the towel to dry her hands. "We're together at work all day," she continues, "and I think we work well together." He nods. "When I talk to you, we're equals, you know?" She pauses, considers her words carefully. "Even though you've got... quite a bit of seniority on me..." 

She's smiling when she says it; Joe goes further, reacting with a full bodied laugh, one that makes her laugh right along with him. "That's the nicest way I've ever been called old," he tells her and her cheeks flush red. She's still smiling though, watches him as he finishes drying the last of the dishes, picking up two mugs and going over to the coffee machine. 

"I just don't feel like there's any difference between us," she says, waving her hand in the space between them, stopping when she realises how tipsy it makes her look. "So when you talk about Barry and Iris, and they're your kids, I guess I automatically think they're younger than they are... not so close to my age. Does that even make sense?"

Joe hands her a mug of coffee, steaming warm, and she wraps her hands around it. His eyes are dancing when he says, "How much eggnog did you actually have?" 

She shoots him a glare, schools her features quickly when the temperature drops noticeably. She takes a sip of her coffee, makes a face when she discovers it's gone cold. Joe frowns as she tips it down the sink and she reaches for the coffee pot again. "Maybe too much," she says, her jovial mood of seconds earlier a distant memory. 

"I thought that wasn't supposed to happen any more." Joe sounds more worried than anything and Caitlin raises the mug to her lips in an attempt to buy some time, get herself under control. 

"It's not." The liquid is still warm when she take the first sip, and the second so she relaxes a little, places the mug down on the counter beside her. "I'll talk to Cisco about it tomorrow... in the meantime, note to self, no more over indulging." 

"Have you been-?" Joe's hand moves up and down in the air, his voice trailing off as a confused expression crosses his face, like he's not sure how to phrase his question, or maybe if he should be asking it in the first place. "I mean, I know Cisco said you might still be able to..." Again with the waving hand and Caitlin hides her smile in her coffee mug. 

"I've tried," she admits honestly. "Succeeded a little more lately. But it usually takes effort. Not like before." 

"Good. That's good." He takes a sip of his own coffee. "I don't like to ask..."

"It's ok." Caitlin feels more awkward than she's felt in months, since the first few weeks of them working together as partners and she doesn't like the feeling, wants it to go away as quickly as possible and return to the easy camaraderie of earlier. "You're my partner... You need to know what's going on. That I'm not going to turn you into a block of ice or something..."

Joe grins and just like that, the awkwardness is gone. "I trust you," he tells her and she's warm again. "C'mon," he says, gesturing towards the living room. "I was gonna sit down with _Die Hard_ but I'm sure there's something on we can both watch... What?"

The last is said because she's lifting one eyebrow as high as it can go, is tilting her head in what she hopes he sees as affront. "Something we can both watch that isn't _Die Hard_?" She lets the disbelief ring clear in her voice, doesn't try to hide it and he blinks. She takes pity on him, gives him her sweetest smile but that only serves to make him look more nervous. "Christmas isn't Christmas until Alan Rickman falls off Nakatomi Plaza." 

He chuckles, shakes his head for good measure. "Popcorn?"

Like he has to ask. "Always," she says, heading into the living room with both their coffees and settling herself on the couch while he prepares the snack. 

When he comes back, he holds up his cell phone. "I just got a text message from Barry; apparently Cisco is lamenting your absence..." He's mostly teasing but there's a part of him that's serious too; she can tell. "You sure you don't want to meet them?"

Caitlin doesn't have to think twice. "And leave all this?" She waves her hand, taking in the tree, the fire, the bowl of popcorn, the television. "Press play, Joe."

Though he may still look doubtful, he does as he's told. 

*

When she opens her eyes, the room is dark, save for the light coming from one lamp in the corner. What's awoken her is immediately apparent, as she finds herself staring into the dark eyes of her partner who's in the process of covering her up with something. A quick glance tells her that it's the throw that was previously on the back of the couch and it's just as warm as it looked too. Joe blinks when he sees her eyes opening, drops his hands quickly and takes a step back. 

"I didn't want to wake you...." he says, voice low, and she could swear he sounds embarrassed. Which is ridiculous; after all, she's the one who fell asleep mid movie. 

"It's fine." She's whispering too, though she doesn't know why. "What time is it?" 

Joe casts an eye towards the mantelpiece but when he looks back at her, he sticks with, "Late."

Caitlin moans, stretches as she sits up. "I should go..." Even though the last thing she wants to do is actually drive home; not alone is the throw wonderfully warm, the couch is surprisingly comfortable. 

"You can stay." Joe puts an arm on her elbow as she stands, wobbles on her feet. "There's a spare room upstairs if you don't want the couch..."

Tempting as it is, Caitlin shakes her head. It's a perfectly reasonable offer, one she shouldn't think twice about taking, but at the same time, it seems somehow like it's crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed. "That's really nice of you..." she begins and then she realises that his hand is still on her arm, that they are standing very close together and a shiver runs down her spine. "But I should..." Her voice trails off as one of her hands moves to his chest and she doesn't know if she's trying to push him away or pull him closer. 

"Yeah," he whispers. "You should..."

But she doesn't. Instead, she leans in and he leans down and his lips brush over hers and if the way they are standing caused her to shiver, then this sends a rush of heat through her, coming to rest low in her belly as he deepens the kiss, his hands sliding around to her waist and pressing her close to him. 

"Joe..." she whispers as his lips trail down her neck...

Which is when she wakes up with a start. 

The room is dark, save for the light coming from one lamp in the corner. She is lying on the couch, covered in the same throw that she'd noticed earlier on in the night. But she is alone in the room, and a glance at her watch tells her that it's a few minutes past three in the morning. She considers going home but abandons the idea; she's too tired to drive, probably too wired at the moment after that dream, and besides, if she knows her partner, the house is locked up tight and she doesn't know where the keys are. 

So, she does the only thing she can. She lies back down and tries to sleep, but every time she closes her eyes, she finds herself replaying that dream, that kiss. 

Sleep is a long time coming.


End file.
